While the highest honor of becoming the Tour Championship winner of this season is at stake at the CME Championship, this weekend there are also some final accolades and positions that need to be granted.
Many young aspirants who made their debut on the Tour this year were hoping to become the official rookie player. And the biggest name in this race was Rose Zhang. However, yesterday, after she lost the race, her fans rushed in to console her.
Rose Zhang makes a critical assessment of her 2023 performance
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2023 has been a phenomenal year for Rose Zhang. Though many players make their debut on the LPGA every season, only a few make it as big as Zhang. The young phenom has been hailed internationally for her incredible prowess and impressive talent, even more so after she took the golf world by storm when she won her debut at the Mizuho Americas Open.
Following that, the one-time LPGA winner continued to hold her own despite competing with seasoned players. There were only a handful of events where she couldn’t make the cut, and the rest displayed some exceptional skill, backed by great results week after week. Despite the fact that the young LPGA star lost the Rookie of the Year award on Wednesday this week, Ryu Hae-ran was crowned the 2023 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year.
In a press conference that followed the announcement, Zhang was asked to grade her rookie season. The question sent the golf pro deep into thought, and when prompted further, she replied, “I am thinking.” After some pondering, she replied, “B, a solid B.” The 22-year-old Ryu was sitting beside her during this presser. Perplexed by Zhang’s response, she asked, “Why? Just a B.” To this, Zhang said, “I think yours is A. Rookie of the Year.” Hilariously, Rye added, “B+,” and the girls broke out laughing.
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Undoubtedly, after such an amazing year, Zhang was hoping for some recognition for it. The loss must have certainly stung. However, her fans were there to make sure that she didn’t feel too bad about it for too long.
Fans raise the spirits of the ‘adorable’ Zhang after her loss
Her fans felt that Zhang was being too hard on herself, and despite missing the rookie award, she deserved a better grade. They found her to be too modest, and in the comments of the video of the interview on Instagram, they vouched for her, claiming that she deserved an A.
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